The place to discuss, post photos, video, and audio of the G&L products (US instruments, stomp boxes, etc.) produced after 1991, including the amps & gear we use with them.
So, I had a limited intro to this forum back when I had an '89 SB-2. Since then I have done a ton of guitar swapping, and now I have two lovely Legacy guitars that are just awesome.
First one I got is this 30th Anniversary Legacy, in the full trim. Great guitar, only issue I ever had was that the ebony fretboard developed a few cracks around the inlays.
The finish is just sublime. It looks all vanilla, but then has that rainbow sparkle when you get closer. Sound is everything I ever wanted from a strat, but better.
Second one I just picked up, and is a Legacy Special. Locking tuners, and the stock pickups have been replaced by the previous owner with a Paul Gilbert set from Dimarzio. So far, I like it, though I may change the pickups out for something a bit hotter later. Just ignore that other blue thing in the background.
fwiw I have a both a Legacy Special with stock Gotoh rail pickups and a Legacy fitted with the Dimarzio Injector Paul Gilbert signature pickups. The stock Special pickups are fatter, fuller, and with more output than the Injectors, especially the bridge. It might be worth your while trying to revert if back to stock. Just a thought.
fwiw I have a both a Legacy Special with stock Gotoh rail pickups and a Legacy fitted with the Dimarzio Injector Paul Gilbert signature pickups. The stock Special pickups are fatter, fuller, and with more output than the Injectors, especially the bridge. It might be worth your while trying to revert if back to stock. Just a thought.
Is there any source aside from the used market where I could find the gotoh models? I know I can get them through GL but it would be $80 a pop from there, though that's about the same it is for the paul gilbert set.
I remember reading that for a while they used kent armstrong blade pickups, as the gotoh's weren't available for a bit. How to those sound in comparison?
fwiw I have a both a Legacy Special with stock Gotoh rail pickups and a Legacy fitted with the Dimarzio Injector Paul Gilbert signature pickups. The stock Special pickups are fatter, fuller, and with more output than the Injectors, especially the bridge. It might be worth your while trying to revert if back to stock. Just a thought.
Is there any source aside from the used market where I could find the gotoh models? I know I can get them through GL but it would be $80 a pop from there, though that's about the same it is for the paul gilbert set.
I remember reading that for a while they used kent armstrong blade pickups, as the gotoh's weren't available for a bit. How to those sound in comparison?
As far as I know they are proprietary to G&L, I found a used set on TGP for another guitar. Never played the KAs myself. The KA blade p'ups have black "blades" and the G&L ones are chrome / shiny.
I got my first Legacy Special fully intending to replace the p'ups with "better" ones, but I liked them so much I got a second one to mod .... they're both still stock. Compared to the Injectors the Gotohs have a lot more "meat on the bones".
I guess I'll have to see how I like the injector set. I have way too many guitars, including some that have TONS of meat to the sound (EBMM Steve Morse and two Hamer Diablos).
I think how it compares to my G&L Legacy and Carvin Bolt Hardtail would determine whether I look into picking up a set of the original pickups. Time for a guitar shootout!
I really got to put the Legacy Special through the paces today, and the injector set does sound quite nice. I haven't broken out the other legacy yet to compare. I need to switch amps from my Marshall to something more suitable for clean comparisons. I think it will come down to what I want it to sound like.
How "glassy" and clear are the stock rail pickups? They seem to be more geared towards power, maybe at the expense of clarity.
In terms of tone and output the stock Legacy CLF-100 alnico V pickups sit right between DiMarzio Areas and Injectors ( I have three SSS Legacys each fitted with those pickups). The Areas are low output, bright pickups with a more glassy tone than the G&L pickups, the Injectors have more output with less "glass" and treble than the G&Ls.
The Gotoh rail pickups takeover where the Injectors leave off. The amount of quack or glass can be increased by lowering the pickups, but they still won't have as much clarity as G&L alnicos or the Dimarzio Areas. The blue Special pictured above has the pickups set very close to the strings, there is very little string pull so they can be set really close.
With the Injectors the output is limited by the pole pieces, set them too close and the strings start to warble ( stratitis ), same goes for the G&Ls and the Areas. The cherry burst Special pictured above has the pickups set much lower and it does quack a lot more in the "in between" positions.
Thanks for the info! For now, I've got to break out my Mesa DC-5, and really do a shootout. I also need to decide what I really want this guitar to be in the arsenal. I've already got a ton of medium/high pickups in various guitars. Maybe something lower output is more called for.
Then again the rails already are a bit lower output than the other guitars I have, I would think. I compared the Injector set to the SG Supreme above, and it's definitely lower out put, even with the "low output" 57 classics in the SG.
I do like the sound of the Injector set though, and having a hum cancelling set that gets a nice sound is always a plus. It does have some nice quack in the notch positions too.
Ok, so I pretty much did a shootout/test with the 30th Anniversary Legacy, the Special, and my Carvin bolt. The bolt has Carvin AP11 pickups, which are ceramic magnet on the bottom style pickups. They give the Bolt the most "beef" of the three, with the Special in second, and the Legacy last. While I wish the Special had a bit more power, I think with that I'd lose some of the clarity, so for now, the pickups stay.
I'll have to see if I can find a legacy special locally to take a look at, and compare with in the future.
Sorry about the thread from the dead, but the only question left for me, as I can't get my hands on a legacy special at this moment to try out.
How are the notch/quack positions? Do they get a real quack? I've heard that due to the two coils of the blade pickups being in slightly different locations means that the phase cancellation that gives the quack is not as pronounced.
tbonesullivan wrote:Sorry about the thread from the dead, but the only question left for me, as I can't get my hands on a legacy special at this moment to try out.
How are the notch/quack positions? Do they get a real quack? I've heard that due to the two coils of the blade pickups being in slightly different locations means that the phase cancellation that gives the quack is not as pronounced.
Your Legacy Special with Dimarzio Injectors will have more quack than one with the Gotohs. Do you have an Area 67 in the middle position ? That model in the middle will maximise the quack when combined with the neck or bridge Injectors.
The Gotohs do respond to height adjustment, I haven't re-read the whole thread and I'm not sure if I mentioned it but I have the blue Special set up with the pickups set very close to the strings, for maximum output from the bridge, and the cherry burst one has them set much closer to the pickguard. The cherry burst easily out quacks the blue one.
You did mention that about one of the Legacy specials you have. I just can't find one "in the wild" around here to A/B with the one with the injectors.
It has the full paul gilbert set, with the area 67 in the middle, so it quacks really well. Maybe they put the area 67 in the middle for just that reason. I'm probably 90% sure I will keep it as it is. If I really want a bigger sound, I'll go to one of my hamer diablos.
